THE Burgoyne name is synonymous with the Port Adelaide Football Club, stemming way back to 1977 when Peter Burgoyne senior debuted for the Magpies.

Since then his sons Peter junior and Shaun, and grandson Trent, have forged their own paths at Alberton taking the family’s tally to 440 games.

On Sunday evening, a new chapter was written in the illustrious Burgoyne history books as Jase Burgoyne made his AFL debut against Fremantle in Perth.

The skinny-but-silky defender has impressed in the SANFL this season with his composure and tidy disposal, and he didn’t look out of place at AFL level, gathering 17 touches on debut.

Father Peter was on hand, with the whole family in tow, to present his son with his first AFL guernsey, urging him to enjoy experience and not take the opportunity presented to him for granted.

“Today is a special day for my family and for Jase,” Peter Burgoyne said.

“Port Adelaide has been in our family for the last three generations and to have my son now playing at Port Adelaide – it’s your path now.

“So, you make your way in the game and hopefully you can have a good career.

“Jase, I’m proud of you. Look forward to the day and soak it up.”

For Jase, it is a moment he says he will never forget.

And fair enough, given not only was it his first game in the AFL, but he and his teammates nearly staged a remarkable comeback from 40-points down.

“I probably started off a bit nervous but I think I built into it,” the silky half-back flanker said.

“The crowd was getting into it towards the end it was pretty loud – I couldn’t even hear anything.

“All in all, I think it was good from the team to push towards the end and try and get back into the lead, but Freo were just too good.

The 18-year-old said his side’s late game resurgence was built on a better contested work rate and ability to be damaging with the ball.

Meanwhile, the message from senior coach Ken Hinkley was that there was obviously room for improvement, but the team’s performance in the first and fourth quarters are good benchmarks to achieving the success they are working towards.

A win would’ve been better to mark the occasion, but playing in a high-pressure game and being able to share the experience with his family after Covid has prevented such moments in recent years, makes it a memory for the young defender to cherish.

“It was pretty special for Dad to be able to come down and present me with my guernsey,” he said.

“I didn’t know he was going to come down so it was a bit of a surprise.

“A couple of the boys got a good laugh out of it (with Peter sharing a story of spraying a young Robbie Gray in his first game and pleading for them to be more supportive of Jase).

“It was pretty good and definitely something I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”